In the art of using sawing machines for cutting hollow metal stock, one problem that is frequently encountered is that metal chips and cuttings tend to accumulate in the cutting area, and particularly within the hollow of the metal stock, thus requiring the saw to cut through the chips and cuttings more than once. As successive cuts are made through the stock, and particularly where a blower system is used, the metal chips and cuttings tend to move away from the cutting area and accumulate within the hollow such that the hollow becomes more and more filled with metal chips and cuttings.
In the area of chip removal systems that use air pressure to blow the metal chips and cuttings away from the cutting area, doing so tends to cause problems elsewhere within the sawing machine. That is, while metal chips and cuttings are successfully removed from the cutting area by the blower system, the same metal chips and cuttings are moved to other areas of the sawing machine where they can cause problems and potential damage elsewhere in the machine.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a means for extracting metal chips and cuttings away from the cutting area of a sawing machine without simply moving them to other undesirable areas of the machine. It is another object to provide a system and apparatus that accomplishes this extraction by means of a vacuum arrangement. It is still another object of the present invention to provide such a system and apparatus that utilizes a minimal number of elements and a minimal number of steps to use. It is yet another object to provide such a system and apparatus that can be used as original equipment or as a retrofit to sawing machines of current manufacture and design, such machines being used to cut hollow metal stock.
In the disclosure that follows, it is to be understood that the terms “hollow metal stock” or “stock” shall be interpreted to mean metal tubing, metal extrusions, or any other structures that have one or more cavities defined in them and which may be cut into smaller parts by use of a sawing machine, the sawing machine being adapted to cut through the cavity or cavities of the stock. It is also to be understood that the cross-sectional profile of the hollow metal stock can be in any shape including, by way of example, circular, oblate, square or rectangular, the shape of the stock not being a limitation of the present invention. It is further to be understood that the cross-sectional dimension or size of the hollow metal stock is not a limitation of the present invention either.